


Musical Dissonance

by Trebla



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: F/M, Humor, Music, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-02
Updated: 2011-01-02
Packaged: 2017-10-23 02:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/245011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trebla/pseuds/Trebla





	Musical Dissonance

Shaun glanced at his watch, then at the sun. Then at his watch again. He patted his pocket and found the reassuring bulk of his treasured mp3 player in his pocket, complete with earphones, a nonsensical black. He checked his watch again.

"Come off it, Hastings," the nervous Brit muttered to himself. "It's nothing, nothing. Don't be so jittery. Just a couple of songs."

He was just beginning to talk himself into calm when a cheery voice said from behind him, "So! Where are those tunes I was promised?"

Shaun cursed himself for starting like a guilty teenage boy caught breaking the rules. He composed himself as best as he could, turned, and said irritably, "Well, come over here, then. We haven't got all day."

Rebecca yawned as she sat cross-legged on the ground next to the chair Shaun was sitting on. He felt a stirring of guilt, but pushed it aside; this wasn't some silly romance where he gallantly offered a chair to the lady. He was lending her his music player, for Chrissakes, not asking her on a date.

Despite their many differences, Rebecca and Shaun shared one odd trait: a liking for poppy, techno music. It enabled the two to see eye-to-eye, and even form a kind of bond, though neither would admit it. Whenever Shaun managed to snatch up a new CD on his supply runs (some assigned, some "volunteered") or Rebecca _again_ managed to do what Shaun could not and convince Lucy to help her download a new song without leaving any trace of their passage, the first thing either did- after taking a moment to revel in the feeling of contact from the outside world, however small- was to get the word out to the other. Usually it was by word of mouth, but they'd been busy as of late, what with settling in the Sanctuary of the Auditore villa (Shaun still found those statues creepy, staring down on him, and had set up his station accordingly to block the gazes) and trying to get to their designated point in Desmond's memories of Ezio. Shaun didn't really have the heart (or guts?) to break Rebecca away from her work, even for something so small. It would take only a moment, but every time the frankly sarcastic Brit opened his mouth, the weirdest feeling of embarrassment would wash over him, and he would close it again, feeling foolish and somewhat befuddled at his own reactions.

What was wrong with him? he would wonder, laying on the uncomfortable stone floor of the Sanctuary, studiously avoiding the gazes of the stone Assassins. It was as though he were a teenager again, hormone-driven and lost in the changes overtaking his body and mind. But even then, that wasn't quite right. He'd never looked at a girl and felt a tingle in his stomach, or heard her laugh and ache with loss when silence swallowed it up again. He'd never been enraptured by their banter, the quick back-and-forth that he so loved to engage in. It was as though he had been blindsided by emotion; where had this come from? Why was it here now? Why the hell was it impeding his ability to articulate sentences in a complete thought like a normal functioning human?

For whatever the reasons were, the feelings persisted. And so, like the wimp he truly was, Shaun sent an email.

He was careful to word it, making sure it was strictly casual and not too relaxed. Didn't want to seem too friendly, but too gruff and she would ask questions. It was a very subtle art.

She responded with a smiley face.

That, of course, confused Shaun to no end. A smiley face? A simple "okay, see you then" would do. What did it mean for a woman to leave a smiley face and nothing else as a response?

Wisely deciding not to read too much into it, Shaun took that as a yes and found his sudden feelings to be rising over the next few days that passed. He was agitated, he could barely sit still; trying to sleep was a nightmare, though he'd already become accustomed to sleeping during the day and operating at night. He'd become increasingly cranky, too, and hardly spoke to anyone.

Rebecca waved a hand in front of his face, breaking him from his reverie. "Shaun?" she asked, staring up at him with a slight frown. "Hey, anybody in there?"

"Of course there is," Shaun replied irritably, handing her the music player, annoyed with himself. Rebecca nodded and stuffed the headphones into her ears.

Shaun's irritation lessened somewhat, watching Rebecca listen intently to the music as it began to play. Her eyes were closed, and a slight frown of concentration creased her forehead. Shaun always wondered why she was so focused on the music the first time she heard it. She always looked as though she were attempting to memorize it on the first listen.

The Brit felt a wave of affection for the dark-haired woman seated next to him on the ground. He heaved a mental sigh; she exasperated him, but he had to love her for it.

The song ended, and Rebecca opened her eyes, trance broken. She heaved herself up off the ground and handed the headphones back to Shaun, who accepted them with a slight nod.

"Nice choice," the Animus tech said with a grin. "Passion Pit is my favorite."

A small part of Shaun's brain filed that away for future reference, but all he said was, "Well, yeah. I thought you might like them."

Rebecca smiled. Then, she leaned down and kissed Shaun's cheek. It was only a peck, but it caught him off guard. Blinking, he stared at her, jaw hanging slightly open. Rebecca grinned and gave him a wave.

"Nighty night, Shaun," she said, and hurried away into the Sanctuary.

Shaun stared at the spot she had been standing in long after she was gone, hands in his pockets. Then, abruptly, he shook himself and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Bloody hell," he muttered.


End file.
